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Gripen

Category: GRIPEN

Saab is pleased to invite media, financial analysts and investors to the yearly Gripen seminar in Stockholm, 12 March 2015. During the seminar, Saab will give an update on the current status of the Gripen programme.

Sweden has ordered 60 Gripen E and a contract with Brazil on 36 Gripen NG was signed in October 2014. The interest for both Gripen E and Gripen C/D is increasing around the world.

The yearly Gripen seminar gives an update on the status of the programme.

Ulf Nilsson, head of Saab business area Aeronautics and Jerker Ahlqvist, head of business unit Gripen will be the participants.

The seminar is scheduled between 8.30 and 9.30 CET on 12 March 2015.

The seminar will be broadcasted live on http://saab-seminar.creo.se/150312. It is possible to post questions also over the web. All presentations, the webcast included, will be published on Saab’s web site. ​

​Two members from the Brazilian ski team dropped by the Saab pavilion to see Gripen

Ex Saab engineer Åke, who worked on the Gripen design and development back in the 1980's, at the Gripen pavilion

​Cross-country skiing icon, Janne Stefansson, came by at the Saab Gripen pavilion

Two Swedish Air Force Gripen fighters will perform a flyover at the ongoing Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun today. There is also a full scale replica of Gripen on display at the Saab pavilion at the event.

The flyover will take about 5 minutes and a Gripen pilot on the ground will act as a speaker telling the audience visiting the Nordic World Ski Championship in Falun what they will see and also give some information about Gripen. The Gripen pilot will also be present at the Gripen pavilion to answer questions from the public.

​As the Hungarian Gripen program celebrated its 10th anniversary last week, MoD’s defence news portal and monthly magazine refreshed the key milestones of the program.

Hungary decided on a lease contract for 14 Gripen aircraft in 2001. The contract was later amended in 2013 to include additional functionality of the aircraft and a purchase.

The first Hungarian Gripen left Linköping on 16 February 2005, while the first five Hungarian Gripen pilots travelled to Sweden on 7 January 2005 to participate in a three weeks long training at the Såtenäs Air Base and Halmstadt.

Hungarian Gripen fighters first participated in an international training in October 2006. The pilots of the Puma squadron have participated in the NATO Tiger Meet several times and in 2014 they were selected as members of the alliance based on their performance.

The Hungarian Gripen fighters currently provide air policing services over the Slovenian air space. The training for the air-to-air refueling was about to start this summer. The team will take over the air policing services of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in September 2015.

​TV4.se video throws light on some of the points that will be included in the upcoming bi-lateral cooperation​

In future, there will be an increased degree of interoperability between the Swedish and Finnish air forces, reports Regeringen.se.

As per the final reports on the deepened cooperation between Finland and Sweden, the concrete proposals include joint operations, joint use of air bases and joint combat command capability.

The advantages of the cooperation between the air forces include improved operational capabilities aiming to increase security in a regional context, flexible use of resources and increased cost-efficiency.

Previously, the Czech Gripen fighters were almost exclusively used in the air-to-air role; the aircraft were on 24/7 quick reaction alert to intercept unknown aircraft. The new Litening III pods will be bought for air to ground tasks. Along with Gripen, the pods will be integrated to Czech Air Force’s Aero Vodochody L-159 ALCAs as well.

According to the report, the Swedish Air Force has been using the Litening III pod on their Gripen fighters for years. Litening III pods significantly increase the combat effectiveness of the aircraft during day, night and under-the-weather conditions in the attack of ground and air targets with a variety of standoff weapons.

Litening can be mounted externally on an aircraft. It provides good quality target imagery and is equipped with a laser designator for precise delivery of laser-guided munitions.

​Svd.se​ catches up with the two Brazilian pilots, Captain Gustavo de Oliveira Pascotto and Captain Ramon Santos Forneas, who are in Sweden for their Gripen conversion training. The FAB pilots talk about their experience with the weather in Sweden, which is very different from Brazil’s.

The Brazilian pilots had to undergo water survival training for emergency ejection over water. The water survival course becomes difficult in Sweden as the trainees have to practise in freezing cold water.

“Back home, the water is seldom this cold,” says Fórneas, adding that he sees it as an experience.

According to the report, when Gustavo completed his first flight in Gripen, there was sleet in the air and Lake Vänern was freezing cold.

“Although the weather conditions are very different in the two countries, I do not think we need to adapt the Gripen for Brazil. We have talked to pilots from Thailand who are accustomed to flying in hot and humid climate. They have not had any problems with the Gripen,” says Gustavo.

​Last week, South African Air Force Gripen completed the actual launch of an A-Darter missile. The missile successfully reached the target, which was an unmanned aircraft flying at a 600 meters higher altitude, reports Airheadsfly.com.

As a part of this test, the rocket was launched towards a remotely-controlled aircraft in order to test the maneuverability of the missile. The heat-guided weapon is designed to perform while sustaining up to 100Gs, with targets within a 12 miles radius. The A-Darter’s sensor-eye can spot the difference between the target aircraft’s infrared signature and flares the bogey might launch to fool the missile.

Portal Brazil quoted the project manager for Brazil, Colonel Julius Caesar Cardoso Tavares, saying that the main feature of the latest generation of missiles is their ability to perform high-performance maneuvers.

"The guidance sensor detects the target and the missile also calculates the best route," said the Colonel.

A-Darter does not have small wings that are used for maneuvering. Instead, it can direct the thrust of its rocket engine, performing maneuvers while sustaining up to 100Gs.

The report adds that the A-Darter is now 90 percent ready. South Africa’s Denel Dynamics is the leading company of the project.